Blog Post

There’s a new reformation afoot; if you can’t see it, you’re not looking very hard. I’m not trying to sound overly dramatic, but, having studied the cultures, times, and features of the Protestant Reformation ad nauseum, I can’t help but see our society -and perhaps our entire world- as being one that is entering into a reformation. For some, “reformation” is a scary word, it means change -often in the grand sense! For others, the word is simply an alien concept; something that they simply can’t quite get their heads around. Inevitably, when I start spouting about a coming reformation for the church, people tend to be concerned with what this inevitably will yield.

Truth be told, I can’t tell you what this new reformation will set about doing. I can’t tell you whether or not the journey to get to those conclusions will be more important than the destination thereof. (Though, I have my strong suspicions.) What I can tell you, is that I see some strong hints as to where we might be heading in the near future and what that all might mean for the church.

1.) This may be the death-knell for denominations.

Separating ourselves by spiritual confession is something that we’ve been doing -sometimes to the extreme- for the last 500 years. There very much was a time and a place where this didn’t just work, but worked very well. In the here and now, however, the story is a bit different. Interconnectedness and globalisation have worked, over the last 70 years, to break the strict boundaries of identity and preference. Whereas we once were very capable of labelling and defining ourselves and others, things today are rarely so simple. Case in point: I pastor a church that is a hot-mess of Lutheran, Reformed, Roman Catholic, and “we have no idea” in the background of its members. I’ve seen all of these folks -and a great number outside of my wee parish- pick and choose who, what, and how they follow the Infinite God who calls us all. These people define themselves more as Christ-followers than they define themselves as UCC folk. While some denominations seem to be circling the wagons and drawing their boundaries all the harsher, I can’t help but see this trend continuing as we move forward.

2.) Post-denominational Christianity is NOT a Bad Thing.

In some ways, this is the logical extension of the founding ethos of the United Church of Christ: that they may all be one. To say that we’ll all come out of this as one big happy family would be entirely pollyanna. All the same, perhaps it’s time for us to be less worried about how and what humanity has set down as qualifiers for faith and listen to the One who is drawing us to the ultimate conclusion of our faith. This doesn’t mean there’s not value in creeds, confessions, or disciplines, but we should probably be keen to place them into their proper context; not letting ourselves be governed by them, but by God’s Holy Spirit instead.

3.) This New Reformation will be Holy Spirit Driven.

For far too long, the church -particularly the Mainline Protestant Church-has treated God’s Holy Spirit as if it was something of a bad word or unwelcome house guest. There are churches where inviting God’s Spirit to be with us, inviting that Spirit to work in us and through us, and asking that we be open to Her leadings, is something that is only paid lip-service to. Sometimes, such invocations are met with downright hostility. (“We’re not THOSE types of Christians!”) Whatever it is that God’s Church is moving towards, it’s going to be something that is engaged with the mystical, the magical, the unbelievable that is this God of the Ages whom we worship. God is weird. God is beyond our calculations, understandings, and rationales; deal with it.

4.) The Church will be a Welcome Place for Science.

Far from just a mystical gathering that has no place for science or the wisdom of humankind, whatever church this reformation produces will be a place that welcomes all learning as vessel for God’s revelation to reach us. Evolution, global warming, etc., none of it is harmful to faith if we allow God to speak to us through these mediums. (Okay, global warming IS in fact harmful, but you get what I’m saying…)

If you haven’t picked up by now, this Reformation is going to be some swirling milieu with more than a few things that we would -today- consider contradictions. All the same, the items I’ve listed above -along with quite a few others- seem to only be gaining speed as we step into the future. I can’t speak for everyone reading this, but, for me, I say: “Come Holy Spirit, come…let’s dance girl!”